REBUILD YOUR STORY

I was diagnosed with Raynaud’s disease when I was about 17 years old. It mainly affects my extremities in terms of cold temperature, because I will lose blood circulation in those instances. It could be a hot summer day, and I’m sitting in a room with air-conditioning but lose sensation in my feet, because they’re so cold. My hands have turned white, purple, and blue, until I warm them up and see the blood return to my fingertips. It’s very painful whenever that happens, and it’s possible for me to have symptoms everyday, which can get frustrating. In recent years,...

What does being black mean to you? To me being black is a way of life more so than just a race. Its a vibe an energy of perseverance. Its a privilege and an honor because of the attention that it draws. Its also humbling; being black early on you learn to accept the things that are unacceptable. You learn not to drive past police cars on highways, you learn not to draw too much attention in public. You understand that it take 150% of doing everything right to get the same acknowledgement or recognition as the next mans 60%....

What does being black mean to you? Being a black man means you have to learn how unfair the world is just to become apart of it. The question is too broad but it doesn’t have to be all negative. Being black simply means you’re raised in a world that hates you yet loves all that you create.    What’s your earliest memory of experiencing racial injustice?  I was about 5/6 when I was first put in handcuffs. I was in the wrong but a kid shouldn’t know what handcuffs feel like before he even knows what racial injustice is....

What does being black mean to you?  Although I am proud of my brown skin and I am proud to be African-American I do know that being black comes with having a target on my back. Being in black has put me in a position to always have to look over my shoulder because my skin color is a threat to non-blacks. do you want to know what’s crazy so many people want to be like us, so many people want our culture , to dress like us, to talk like us, and to have their hair like us. It’s...

What does being black mean to you?  It’s simple, never good enough. And if you are, you are only liked as envy.  What’s your earliest memory of experiencing racial injustice? My earliest was 4th grade when a classmate told me I couldn’t go to a birthday party because I did not look like them. I believe this was the first, but I’m not quite sure I understood what was going on. In 6th grade was when I realized I was different. My hair. I got made fun of all day, every day. People kept putting stuff in it. I had...